Blackhawks' Chris Kunitz still a key player as he moves into twilight of his career

Chris Kunitz was a rookie at the ripe old age of 26, so forgive the 38-year-old forward if he’s not quite ready to move on from the NHL.

“I still have that want and hunger to go out and compete,” said Kunitz, who turns 39 on Sept. 26. “You think about what you do after, and that hasn’t fallen into my mind too much yet.”

After playing two years of junior hockey followed by four years at Ferris State, Kunitz made his NHL debut with the Ducks in 2004 and stuck two years later. He has been a consistent point producer wherever he has gone, posting nine seasons of at least 40 points. He has 263 goals and 346 assists in 966 career games, the majority coming during nine seasons with the Penguins.

Kunitz is at the point in his career where he’s living out the cliche of taking things one year at a time. He signed a one-year deal with the Lightning last year, and the Blackhawks signed him to another one-year contract this offseason.

The Hawks have had success finding veteran forwards on inexpensive, short-term deals. John Madden and Brad Richards were key members of Stanley Cup-winning teams during their lone seasons in Chicago.

Kunitz, who won a Cup with the Ducks and three with the Penguins, wasn’t told what line he would be playing on when he signed. It was a bit of a surprise when training camp opened and he was practicing on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Alex DeBrincat.

“Last year, if that was an indicator, I played a lot at the lower six, not a lot of power-play time,” Kunitz said. “The year before that, I was kind of bouncing around the top nine, so it’s wherever your team fits, whatever you need. I just wanted to come here with an opportunity to play with a great group of guys, guys that have that potential of winning Stanley Cups.”

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville loves Kunitz’s experience and reputation for being a great teammate. The final spot among the top six forwards isn’t set, but it sounds as if Quenneville is comfortable with Kunitz having it to start and seeing if one of the younger guys can wrest it away from him.

“Somebody’s got to prove that he deserves to play up there,” Quenneville said. “If Kunitz can play with good players — whether he plays in the top six or he does not play in the top six — he has that opportunity where he is comfortable in either spot. He’s respected for who he is at this stage of his career, but I’m not giving that to anybody else unless they prove they deserve to be there.”

Get it right this time: The Hawks had one of the league’s worst power plays last season, scoring on 16 percent of their chances and tying for 28th. On Monday, they began practicing a 1-3-1 scheme. The first unit consisted of Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, Nick Schmaltz, DeBrincat and Toews.

“You always have the mindset of hopefully the line that goes out there first, they’re going to get it done,” Quenneville said. “And without saying a one or a two, the group that begins, hopefully the other one doesn’t get out there.”

Pilote documentary: The grandson of the late Pierre Pilote has made a documentary about the career of the Hawks Hall of Famer, who died last year at 85. The 11-minute, 42-second film made by Karson Pilote features interviews conducted a few months before his grandfather’s death from bone cancer.

Pilote played 13 seasons with the Hawks from 1955 to ’68, serving as captain in seven of those seasons and winning three Norris Trophies as the league’s best defenseman. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975.

“I just felt like he was a bit forgotten in Chicago, and I felt like I really told his story and how great he was,” Karson Pilote said.

The documentary will be shown at 2 p.m. Friday at the Davis Theater, 4614 N. Lincoln, as part of the Middle Coast Film Festival.